Podcasts Archives - Valerie Moss

March 18, 2021March 7, 2021

100th Episode: A Taxi Through the Mountains – e100p2s3

episode 100 part 2 season 3

Hey everyone it’s Valerie here, for todays episode as we continue to count up to our 100th episode is about a fallen officer, summer camps, this is when I start into the background recordings, my life in signs, a milestone birthday, a podcast winner and more, enjoy todays part 2 of 5 episode…

Episode 21 – Calgary Summer Camps for a 6 yo For all of you parents out there – this is a great go to article pre-covid obviously for summer camps & top pick for our house is….

Episode 22 – Calgary’s Lodgepole Pine, PinusContorta This episode is about Calgary , Alberta’s local forests more specifically PinusContorta – that’s a mouthful!

Episode 23 – Calgary Pay Attention This quick segment is discussing Calgary languages first English, second is…? What language do you speak?

Episode 24 – Calgary History: William (Bill) Shelever 1977 This was a true group project using voices from other people to make this story come alive. Another top post I’m extremely proud of – this falling officer, new baby in his young wife’s tummy & a prisoner in the end who wants conjugal visits.

Episode 25 – behind the Shelever Episode Rookie Cop Shot and how many podcaster voices make this story come to life and where they came from – that made this previous episode happen – such a great collection of talent showcasing an important subject matter.

Episode 26 – Review: Ten, 5 & Humanity A lingering Episode why? Because of a man, down on his luck, with his special orange rock, a vegetarian go to family style restaurant with an even nicer washroom and the kindest act of Humanity!

Episode 27 – Vsquared Promo Take One A great go to for first time listeners, we answer the Why’s, questions about the Calgary weather, Interviews with Wardens, expatriates, crime and being summoned…Anything here sound delicious to listen to check it out!

Episode 28 – Compass? Which Way! UGH are you like me and you have no honing device a fun episode where we talk about internal compass.

Episode 29 – New Podcasts for U Where it’s a series or a story told over a few episodes or something like NPR this is a great list of some of my favs. A small down full of Dicks and serial crime with a little Helen Gimlet uncovered. A great go to for the best podcasts.

Episode 30 – Signs Signs Everywhere is signs My entire career is based on signage and here’s the one project that changed me, the international wing of the Calgary International Airport or the IFP Project.

Episode 31 – Merry Christmas A personal Christmas story about my childhood, with the two side of my family after divorce – made my auntie smile, can you hear the fire place crackling and the people chattering, I can… Merry Christmas from me to U!

Episode 32 – Vegas Baby! A first getaway after becoming parents, a milestone birthday and our 17 Anniversary, a dogs tail remains safe and a 20’ doll comes to life! (Artwork Updated)

Episode 33 – Pure Vietnamese Kitchen I love Vietnamese food, why? Because who doesn’t like a great bowl of soup with the freshest ingredients, this is my families favourite place for Vietnamese!

Episode 34 – Friends What does it mean to have a true friend, trust and loyalty and savouring the moment of this person – Amber!

Episode 35 – Mental Health Podcast Challenge I won an award for this write up, it was true and honest and I believe we all go through bouts of mental health challenges – if you never feel low or sad, you don’t get to enjoy true happiness as you don’t have a comparison!

Episode 36 – TMT: Calgary Scottish Roots Or should I say Calaghearridh, meaning pasture by the bay, and where Calgary got her name!

Episode 37 – Loco Parentis: Student vs Institution In this episode I discuss the role the schools play on behalf of parents – they act as a parent to our children, this is the trust we place on teachers and schools, is this line blurry? (Artwork updated)

Episode 38 – Concrete at The Glenbow A cast cement art piece representing our Calgary, Alberta heritage, oil, wheat, cowboy hat and chinook arch.

Episode 39 – Taxi! This is when I started to play with recording backgrounds and using this in my shows…this was such an interesting conversation with a Taxi Driver from Pakistan and his family story, yes we discuss OBGYNs.

Episode 40 – Activities for Kids & Parents In this episode I talk about group sports with kids and parent as London and I started taking karate together – and boy was this successful.

Episode 41 – Banff Mountain Getaway One thing about me is, I love the mountains, love the sun on my face and the snow all around me, I love to walk in the snow…here’s a trip we took through the mountains of Banff, which is about an hour and a half from where we live, lucky right?

So what did you think about part 2, it’s been amazing to go back and revisit these shows, so much I’ve learned about myself (love the winters) and about this great city that I’ve put down some serious roots. My favourite episode about humanity and the man with his orange rock, the dogs safe tale, our chinooks and more – all links to this shows of course in the show notes along with updated episode artwork.

Follow Me:

Website @ ValerieMoss.ca

Instagram @ValerieJMoss

Facebook @VSMoss

YouTube @ValerieJMoss

Pinterest @VJMoss

The show music is call ‘Girl’ by Text me Records and Leviathe

The cover art, storytelling and production is by me, Valerie Moss.

Stay Tuned for the next season, season 3 on Valerie’s Variety Podcast with your host me, Valerie Moss from Studio 17

January 20, 2019January 19, 2021

Mental Health Podcast Challenge – e35s1

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episode 35 season 1

Episode 35: Mental Health Podcast Challenge

Welcome back to a special episode of Valerie’s Variety Podcast a sensitive episode where I discuss Mental Heath…enjoy the episode

emotional person

wear my heart on my sleeve

lost friends and lost family to cancer

had a breakdown in my kitchen when work got too stressful

love things and people more than I should

When I was in grade 5 just 12 years old I was living in a rough area in Edmonton with rough people. I watched my neighbour take acid when I was 11 years old and have an episode. I watched my other neighbour have an epileptic attack grande mal seizure while me and my sister plus other neighbour kids were around – I remember being so scared and curious that I couldn’t look away or leave but too scared to get to close to this moment

Watched my grandmother die of cancer, lost my grandpa from my moms side he fell off a roof and had a heart attack, found by neighbour kids the same age as my daughter is today.

I have immediate family members that don’t respond to my calls, texts, emails, they aren’t around for important moments, they’re invited, they’ve been reached out to, they’re very important to me, they are included but don’t respond. They suffer from mental illness – they are crushed by their own sense of sadness and loss and can’t find their way out of it to reach out or connect tot he people that love them the most.

Watching my friend struggle with her job and her personal life at the same time. We need balance, if work is difficult your home life needs to be solid.

Sadness envelopes me when I think about my family as a child and miss everyone my heart swellsand biomes heavy – not because they are gone and don’t respond but because of the time we had together as a family – those days have passed.

Becomes heavy when I was 37 years old my husband had open heart surgery, I was looking at being a window at under 40, I was fearful my daughter would grow up without her dad

I have people in my life that are unkind, unkind to the people I love deeply – these people are mean spirited and passive aggressive and cross the line too much to count and as such I choose not to include them to save my heart from further pain.

Mental illness to me is all of these things and if we allow ourselves to be crushed by sadness, hope, disparity, strength….this will happen, mental illness will set in and conquer our lives. What we need to do is to embrace it, live it, let is fester for it’s time and then forgive it leave it by the curb and become more whole than you ever have as this is now part of you. the heavy ness of this moment, this person, this loss, this love. I have my moments, with Christmas just passed and not seeing my mom for another Christmas. BUT reaching out to the people who matter, and who you matter to is the most important.

BUT i have friends that fill up my days, and I’m open to trying, buying, eating, drinking, talking, playing, being together – saying yes when asked. Being the Asker because I need to be purposeful and fulfilled. Love life more and be better, do more and be stronger for it.

Mental Illness is our cognitive thinking skills, can we presume we know what someone is thinking, yes of course, is it accurate to the depths we want to perceive it to be, likely not. It maybe close but it’s not the everything.

For me I need to be with people, from what I know about M.I. is that it’s a lonely spot to be in, it’s cold and isolated. When you’re with people you feel warm and cared for – this matters. You matter. we need to matter to people and to the most important person – ourselves.

I lost one of the most important people to me a year ago and I have this whole in my heart even when I write this – no tears now as time has healed this emotion of breaking my barrier of tears BUT I feel sad that she’s no longer in my life, I feel like a void is truly there – she was a friend, a dear sweet, non deserving friend to be taken by cancer…BUT i’m stronger for knowing her, perhaps better to as she taught me to have more fun in life and enjoy life just a bit more.

Make life easier on ourselves and our best people. Think of these best people and why they are important, how they make you feel – why they are in your life and cherish these moments with them.

Reflect on Mental Illness, use these life trials as a ladder to build up our character, get that fodder in our lives for us to share amongst our best people at the dinner table to better our friendships. you never know who is going through these moments in life so give someone just a bit more patience do a little better to make life easier for someone else. and remember you are not alone.

thank you Valerie Moss, Valerie’s Variety Podcast

Mental Illness Podcast Challenge

stop the stigma

Thank you for listening taking a spot out of your day to be with me and to give me your time, I truly appreciate it. Think about your friends and family who are going through some hard times, give them a text, email or a call to say hi and check in – they may not respond but you can guarantee they loved hearing from you. Thank you to River for putting this Mental Health Podcast challenge out there , thanks to my friend Amber for editing this episode. Thanks to London for the intro and outro. Please share your thoughts with me…in confidence if you have a story you’d like to share about mental illness, I’ve love to be your support to hear your story.

November 27, 2018January 19, 2021

Compass? Which Way! – e28s1

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episode 28 season 1

100th_ 28 Compass — Honing Device for North

Welcome back to Valerie’s Variety Podcast and our TmT segment for this week, we’re checking out the calgary street names…or numbers and our internal compass’ or lack their of.

If you’re new to Calgary or have been here for many years our number and named street system can be an like herding cats trying to figure this out. Hopefully you aren’t too bewildered by the numbered street system. Up until the year 1904, Calgary actually used a street naming system instead of numbers. Even today there are some who hope Calgary will revert to the old street naming system, and are even pressing for political action to make it happen. Today, there are some Calgary communities who use both systems. Crowchild Trail, or Highway 1A, Richmond Road or 37 Avenue SW, Glenmore Trail or High 8, 24 Street SE or Ogden Road – to name a few. Which do you prefer and Why? I think naming after significant people or to reflect on past transgressions of a government Reconciliation Bridge for example, speaks to great Truths our city is willing to promote to get recognition – which holds more strength and compassion then 9th street SE. Where do you live and what’s easier for you to navigate through the city? Landmarks, street names or numbers?

When I first moved to Calgary, having no sense of direction it didn’t help me if it was Glenmore Trail or 50 Avenue – since I have no internal compass this wasn’t what I needed – it was useless, I get lost in parking lots, get turnaround inside malls. I need to focus on landmarks, memorize and take pictures of parking stalls, get my bearings by this red door, or stairwell or specific store – not North. I literally think the path ahead is always north or up no matter what direction I’m facing. Crazy right?

Because this is such an issue for me and moving to Calgary when I was just 20 has been a long road lol to say the least. I recently went to a family reunion and my cousin and I were running errands, I was driving, we were sharing directions – she said to turn left, the sign said EAST and I said EAST? to her – she’s like I don’t know EAST just turn left here… and she too has this obstacle, and thanks to google for helping us out getting EAST, left turn where we needed it.

In my profession I have the requirement to be on job sites, I must know North…I typically will memorize a map of the area and orient myself to always know north and really map out my area, spatial surroundings so I know exactly what people are referring to. ‘North west wall, in the south corridor’ this would just make me cringe inside. I didn’t know this instinctively, but I could review my map and know the top meant north, then be sure of where they were referring to. Overtime, I memorize and store this information to make my personal life and work life easier, but it doesn’t come naturally like a lot of people I know.

Within the last couple of weeks this has truly tested and frustrated me, picture this, I have a compass app on my phone, I have my iPad for documentation, I have the compass in the truck, as I move through the city to all of the these MAX BRT bus stops I need to document, westbound/eastbound/northbound and /southbound directions for the platforms, so I have all of these compass’ tools and help and I’m still like, well this is sort of north-west ish. Good god it’s so frustrating even with the tools I have, I still second guess exactly. Point me straight north or straight west or put me on a road that is exactly this and I’m good, any variance I’m totally mixed up. I’m not the only one, I realize but it effects me on a grand scale as it’s takes me more time to figure this out…

A funny story, while on a large job site, I was meet another sub-trade, in the north east end of the Airport’s international area – this i had memorized long before this meeting as I’d been on this job site for months by this point, once I walked closer to him, he was on the phone speaking to a delivery driver…he said “you need to go north” the driver asked which way is that? – the sub said I don’t know how to explain this, point your ass north and drive…I just laughed, thank god that wasn’t me on the phone but feeling sorry for the guy trying to figure out which way to point his ass…was very funny.

Did you know our brains map this by Magnetoreception meaning that the brain can map by magnetic force a certain path and distance to home or north for example. Whales, birds and even dogs poop according to a magnetic poles. Some insects have a rotating signal that can be used as a homing compass. The entorhinal region fires with neuron signals continuously when you ‘know’ instinctively you are on the right path. Entorhinal cortex calculates these reactions, determining the best direction, quickly. If you get lost, it means your brain cannot keep up to the twists and turns and fails to adjust accordingly.

One way to successfully navigate from any point is to simply remember and store this solidly within your brain. So when you are in another area and want to get back to this area..this previous storing will come to be valuable. Some people can remember these reference points better than others. This makes them quick navigators.

What’s your sense of direction like, does my situation sound like yours? I hope my daughter gets my husbands jeans and just knows her way and doesn’t struggle with which way.

Thank you to these articles: Global News, Daily Mail, BBC, IFL Science, and Science Daily that enlightened me in finding my way to writing this post.

Calgary’s Reconciliation Bridge renamed: ‘We can’t change the past but we are not prisoners of it’

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4530490/Brain-s-internal-compass-revealed-flies.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-30530674

https://www.iflscience.com/brain/found-missing-part-brain-s-internal-compass/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160830084004.htm

The intro and outro for this episode is recorded by London Moss, the music I chose for this finding your way podcast are reflective of the content within

Darcy – Lost at Sea
Cats Meow 05 03 and 02
Lost Bits Beat 01
Northern Lite Synth
Northern Star Bass
Far East Drums 02
Whale Cry
North Star Bass
Bird Song Erhu FX 01
Dogs Barking
Dez – South Side
Southbound Beat 02

Thanks for listening.